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The Columbus Dispatch.

Monday October 13, 2008 6:04 AM

Buckeyes heavily invested in bonds -

The first inkling that turbulence could be ahead for the Ohio State men's basketball team last
season came five months before the season, when captain and three-year starter Jamar Butler went
home for the summer rather than stay on campus and bond with his new teammates.

Another starter, David Lighty, was gone about a month, with coach Thad Matta's blessing, to play
for the United States in an age-group world championship tournament in Serbia.

A freshman whose production would be counted on, Kosta Koufos, prevailed upon Matta to allow him
to play for Greece in another age-group world championship in Spain. He was gone two months.

In retrospect, maybe it was not so surprising the Buckeyes didn't mesh until it was too late to
make the NCAA Tournament.

"I didn't think all the oars were rowing in the same direction at all times," Matta said last
week.

"I think this group on the surface -- we haven't started divvying up minutes or anything --
appears to be more on the same page."

Preseason practice begins this week for the 2008-09 team, which has been intact since June. The
players played pickup games together all summer, began skills work with coaches in mid-September
and can fully come together Friday to begin building on Matta's blueprint for the season. The
returning players meet with the media today.

At a news conference last week to promote the Dec. 6 doubleheader in Indianapolis in which Ohio
State will play Notre Dame, Matta said that besides the time spent on fundamentals the past few
weeks, he has been emphasizing "team camaraderie getting these guys to understand (the importance
of) putting aside the personal goals for team goals and in the end everybody's going to get what
they want."

Ohio State has no seniors and one scholarship recruit (Lighty) who played on the team that
reached the NCAA championship game two years ago. The 16 players include eight newcomers, seven of
them freshmen and sophomores.

"We've got a lot of guys," Matta said. "I think we're going to play a lot of guys."

Here are other points of early-season interest that Matta addressed during an interview last
week:

• Ohio State has not received a ruling from the NCAA regarding the eligibility of junior-college
transfer Nikola Kecman (pronounced KETS-man). The NCAA is investigating whether a club team Kecman
played for in his native Serbia two years ago included professionals. Matta said he expects a
ruling before the season.

• Playing 7-foot freshman B.J. Mullens and 6-8 sophomore Dallas Lauderdale together -- 530
pounds of beef on the baseline -- "is a viable option. I think that's something that could be
pretty good for us," Matta said. "I think this team has the potential to play a double-low post as
well as a 'small-ball' type package" with Lighty, Evan Turner or Kecman at power forward.

• Matta continues to eschew having a "Midnight Madness" event for the start of practice but will
open practice to the public Oct. 25. Ohio State and Penn State play football in Ohio Stadium at 8
that night. The practice will be late afternoon in Value City Arena, probably starting at 4
p.m.